FOOD LABELS

Food Label Video http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIeNUV6LtxA

Food LabelsFood labels help us determine the nutrient content of foods. They are required for most

prepared foods, except those that don’t provide many nutrients, such as coffee and

spices.

Components of Food Labels

Food Label

s

Product Name

Net Contents

Name and Address of the Manufacturer

Nutrition FactsIngredients

Nutritional Claims

Sell By/ Expiration Date

Product Names• Food labels always contain the

name of the product.

• It is important to be critical of these names because they do not always describe the product truthfully.

• For instance, Kraft’s Guacamole Dip contains less than 2% avocado.

• The ingredients list is a more accurate way to determine what you are eating.

Net ContentsNet contents tells you the weight, count, or

quantity inside the package.

Name and Address of the Manufacturer

• The name and address of the manufacturer is important because it tells you who to contact in the event you have file a complaint about the product.

• You can also write to the manufacturer to complement their product- they may send you coupons in return.

Ingredients List• For foods with more than

one ingredient, the ingredients are listed underneath the nutrition facts panel.

• The ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, meaning the first ingredient makes up most of the weight of the product, followed by the second ingredient, and so on.

Ingredients List• Some ingredients labels list

common allergies found in their processing plants, even if they are not contained in the particular food product.

• This is important for those with allergies to remember because it can help control their risk of exposure to things like soy and tree nuts.

Nutritional ClaimsNutrientNutrient Nutritional Claim Content

Calories Calorie FreeLow CalorieReduced Calorie

< 5 cals/serving < or = 40 cals/servingAt least 25% fewer cals/serving than reference food

Fat Fat FreeLow FatReduced Fat

< 0.5 g fat/serving< or = 3 g fat/serving< 25% of fat/serving than reference food

Sugar Sugar FreeReduced Sugar

< 0.5 g sugar/servingAt least 25% less sugar/serving than reference food

Fiber High FiberGood Source of Fiber

> or = 5 g fiber/serving2.5-4.9 g fiber/serving

Sell By and Expiration Date• Sell By Date tells you the product

should be sold by the store by this date. It can still be consumed for up to a week after this date.

• Expiration Date tells you the last day the product should be consumed.

• Best By Date tells you the last date the product is at its freshest. It can still be eaten after this date.

Important Vocabulary• Macronutrients: People need to

eat these nutrients in large quantities.• Protein• Fat• Carbohydrates

• Micronutrients: People need to eat these nutrients in small quantities.• Vitamins• Minerals

Nutrition Facts Panel

Number of Servings and Serving Size

Calories per Serving

Macronutrients

Micronutrients

Percent Daily Value

Servings• At the top of the Nutrition Facts

panel, you will see the serving size and the number of servings in the package.

• The rest of the information on the label is based on a single serving of the product.

• If a product contains less than half a gram of a nutrient per serving, it can be rounded down to zero.

Calories• Calories on the food label tell

you how much energy is in the food product.

• Carbohydrates, Proteins, Fats, and Alcohol are the only items that contribute calories.

Carbohydrates

• 4 calories per gram

Proteins• 4 calories

per gram

Fats• 9 calories

per gram

Alcohol• 7 calories

per gram

Calories• Total Fat: 6g

• 6g X 9Kcal/g = • 54 Calories

• Total Carbohydrates: 40g• 40g X 4Kcal/g = • 160 Calories

• Total Protein: 9g• 9g X 4Kcal/g = • 36 Calories

Total Calories:54 + 160 + 36 = 250 Calories

Macronutrients• Fats, carbohydrates,

and proteins can be found on nutritional panels.

Macronutrients: Fats• Total Fat includes …

• saturated fat• trans fat• monounsaturated fat• polyunsaturated fat

• Only saturated and trans fats are required to be listed under total fat.

• Cholesterol must also be placed on the food label.

Macronutrients: Carbohydrates

• Total Carbohydrate includes the total amount of sugars, fiber, and starch.

• Most of the time, only sugars and starches are included in calculating the total calories because fiber does not add calories to the product.

• You can find the amount of starch in the product by subtracting the amount of sugar from the total carbohydrates.

Macronutrients: Protein • Protein can be found towards

the bottom of the nutrition panel.

• The panel does not always list a recommended amount of protein like it does for the other nutrients because this is based on your body weight.

• You need at least 0.36 grams of protein per pound.

• Weight X 0.36 = needed protein

Micronutrients• The nutrition facts panel must also

list the percent daily value

• Vitamin A• Vitamin C• Calcium• Iron• Sodium

• Some products, like Total cereal, list many more vitamins and minerals, but this is not required.

• Just because a vitamin or mineral is not listed does not mean it isn’t in the product.

Percent Daily Value (DV)• Percent daily values (DV)

tell you how much of something, whether it’s fat, sugar, or vitamin A, one serving of a product will give you compared to how much the government estimates an adult needs for the entire day.

• 5% or less = poor source• 10%-19% = moderate/ good

source• 20% and over = high source

Ingredients List: Beware of Trickery • Sometimes, manufacturers use different

types of sugar in their product.

• Each might be in a small quantity so they are not listed early in the ingredients. However, if you added them all up, the product you are looking at might be made of mostly sugar.

• Look out for sugar’s many disguises: barley malt, brown sugar, cane juice, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, levulose, maltose, mannitol, molasses., rice syrup, and sucros.

Ingredients List: Beware of Trickery

• Fat also has many disguises, such as words like oil, diglycerides, lard, monoglycerides, palmate, palm oil, shortening, stearate, and hydrogenated oil.

Picture Credits Product Names: Net Contents:

http://www.bombayharbor.com/Product/33382/Canned_Tomato_Paste.html Name and Address of the Manufacturer: http://blog.goodguide.com/page/2/ Ingredients List:

http://ls1tech.com/forums/racers-lounge/1589829-lunchtime-eating-healthy.htmlhttp://www.riversideonline.com/health_reference/Immune-System/AA00057.cfm

Calories:http://thewhitneyway.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/lets-talk-about-food-labels/

Macronutrients: http://nutritiondata.self.com/ Macronutrients: Fats:

http://www.myfoodnfitnessdiaries.com/2011/11/25/guest-post-nutrition-labels/ Macronutrients: Carbohydrates:http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/healthy-living-

ideas/diabetes/nutritionknowhow/carbohydratecounting.aspx Micronutrients:

http://www.quitehealthy.com/nutrition-facts/country-crock/L379251.html Percent Daily Value: http://thediabetesclub.com/not-reading-nutrition-labels-can-

cost-you-dear-part-4/